Pink Peony - Finished- To crop or not to crop

As I was painting my Pink Peony I extended the background past what I intended to paint. I  can now leave it at 11" X 14" framed larger, or crop it to fit a 11X14 frame at about 8 X 11.
In the larger version, the peony does not have a stem and may look as if it is floating; however, I like the larger frame size and the background looks less crowded. However, some have already commented that the larger background detracts from the flower....Decisions, decisions!  Any advice? Below is the larger format .

Throwing paint around for the first time in a month

I had not painted in over a month, but today I decided to finally get back to my art and throw some paint around. My, it felt so good even though I felt I had forgotten everything I knew about watercolor.
I want to thank all of you, my dear blogging friends,  who sent me such nice messages these last few weeks as I mended my shoulder, cured my cold and tried to repair my computer.
The following, inspired by the Venice picture in the previous post, is a quick painting on a half sheet of Arches 140 lb. cold pressed. "Spring is here!"